Railway-crossing.



' PATENTED MAY 23, 1905.

A. HOLLINGBR. RAILWAY CROSSING.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1904.

v Attorneys UNITED STATES hatented May 23, 1 905.

ANDREW HOLLINGER, OF CANTON, OHIO.

- RAILWAY-CROSSING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 790,367, dated May 23, 1905.

Application filed May 9, 1904. Serial No 207,187.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW HOLLINGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Canton, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Railway-Crossing, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to railwaycrossings, and particularly to that type of such crossings wherein a continuous rail is provided for the train which has the right of way.

means for permitting lateral movement or play of the bevel-ended rail-sections as they slide upon each other.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a railroad-crossing constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a side view showing the eccentric arrangement for operating the rail-sections.

In the drawings the numerals 1 1 indicate parallel rails of a railroad-track extending in one direction, and the numerals 22 indicate similar parallel rails crossing the rails 1 1 at a right or acute angle, as may be required by the nature of each particular crossing to which the invention is applied.

Between the ends of the rails 1 1 are slidably mounted the rail-sections 3 3 and 4 4, the adjoining ends of which are beveled, as shown, in order that the rail-sections may slide longitudinally upon each other to open or close the rail-crossing. It will be under stood that the rail-sections 3 3 and 4 4 between the ends of the rails 2 '2 are precisely similar in construction to the rail-sections 3 3 and 4 4, and therefore a description of the latter sections will suffice also for the former. Extending transversely across the line of tracks 2 2 is an operating-rod 5, which is provided atone end with a lever or switch-arm 6.

similar arms 1 1 1 1, having eyes encircling the cams 8 8, are pivotally connected at 12 12 to the sections 4 4. The arrangement of the cams 7 7 and 8 8 upon the rod 5 is such that when the rod is turned in one direction by means of the switch-lever 6 the rail-sections 3 3 and 4 4 are drawn toward each other and when the rod is turned in the opposite direc tion the rail-sections are moved away from each other.

If desired, an eccentric cam 13 may be mounted upon the rod 5 to actuate a rod 14, connected at one end to an angle-lever 15, which operates a derail 16.

The operation of the crossing is as follows: When it is desired to give the right of way to a train on the tracks 2 2, the switch-lever 6 is turned in such manner that the rail-sections 3 3 and 4 4 are forced apart to close the gaps between the ends thereof and the rails 1 1, and the switch-lever 6 is turned in such manner that the rail-sections 3 3 and 4 -4 are drawn together to open gaps adjacent to the rails 1 1, as will be understood.

In constructing railroadcrossings with beveled rail-sections which slide upon each other to open or close the gaps in the rail a great disadvantage is caused by the lateral widening or spreading of the rail-sections at their beveled meeting portions as they slide toward each other. I11 order to permit this widening or spreading of the rail-sections, they must be mounted in bearings that are as wide as the greatest breadth reached by the two rail-sections when slid toward each other. Then when the rail-sections are slid apart to close the gaps in the rail they become narrowerand are liable to rattle or become displaced in their bearings, which are a trifle too wide for them when they are slid apart. It has been proposed to remedy this disadvantage by providing springs to hold the rail-sections together. This method,

however, is defective in that the springs-are liable to give when a train passes over the rail-sections and by so giving to cause an accident. It is one of the prime objects of the present invention to avoid the disadvantage above set forth with regard to the widening of the sections. In order to compensate for this widening, the rail-sections 3 3 are mounted to slide longitudinally in bearings formed by bolts 17, set into the base-plate 18 of the device and fitting over the side edges of the rail-sections. The bolts 17 are set closely against the sides of the rail-sections, so as to prevent any lateral play thereof, the rail-sections 3 3 being permitted to move only in a longitudinal direction. The rail-sections 4 4 are mounted to slide on the base-plate 18 between bolts 19, similar to the bolts 17. On one side each of the rail-sections 4 4 is formed with two notches 20, one adjacent to each bolt 19 on that side of the rail-section. The lon inclined wall of each notch 20 is parallel with the beveled end of the rail-section 4. For this reason as the rail-sections 3 3 and 4 4 are drawn together the bolts 19 enter the notches 20 at the same time that the beveled faces of the rail-sections slide upon eachother. The result is that the rail-sections 4 4 move laterally with respect to the rail-sections 3 3.

Then as the rail-sections are forced apart to close the gaps in the rail the bolts 19 slide along the inclined walls of the notches 20 and force the rail-sections 4 4 tightly into position in a direct line with the sections 3 3. Any rattling or liability of displacement of the rail-sections is effectually avoided in this manner.

It will be understood that changes in the details and particular arrangement of the device may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. For instance, instead of forming the notches 20 only in the rail-sections 4 4 similar notches may be made in the rail-sections 3 3, so that both sets of rail-sections will move laterally. In this event the notches in each section need be only one-half as large as those illustrated, for the reason that the numberof notches will be doubled.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is- 1. A railroad-crossing having slidable railsections formed with beveled meeting ends and notches formed with inclined walls parallel with the beveled ends of the sections.

2. A railroad-crossing comprising baseplates, and beveled-ended rail-sections slidably mounted thereon, the rail-sections having notches formed with inclined walls parallel with the beveled endsof the sections.

3. A railroad-crossing comprising baseplates, bolts thereon, and two sets of bevelended rail-sections mounted on the baseplates between the bolts, one set of rail-sew tions having notches formed with inclined walls parallel with the beveled ends of the sections.

4. A railroad-crossing having railsections, non-resilient means adapted to compensate for lateral movement of the rail-sections, an operating-bar extending transversely across the rail-sections and eccentric means on the bar for causing end wise movement of the railsections in opposite directions.

5. A railroad-crossing having rail-sections, non-resilient means ada )ted to compensate for lateral movement 0 the rail-sections, a switch-bar extending transversely across the rail-sections for moving them in o )posite directions, and a derail operated by t 1e switchbar.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW HOLLINGER.

Witnesses:

JOHN DAILEY, Josnrn QUINN. 

